Coopersville & Marne Railway

The EnterTRAINment Excursions began running on May 2nd.Click on EnterTRAINment Excursion Tickets to the leftfor more dates and departure times.

Watch out at crossings, because we will be on our tracks handling freight cars for our customers."Anytime is train time"

Have you ever wondered how to stay safe on or around railroad tracks?Click on the Operation Lifesaver link below to find out.

WHO WE ARE

We are the Coopersville & Marne Railway, an all-volunteer historic railway operating vintage locomotives and circa-1920's cars from Coopersville, Mich. to Marne, Mich. (about 20 miles northwest of Grand Rapids, Mich.). We run passenger trains from spring to winter, rain or shine, to preserve a little chunk of railroad history and educate our passengers along the way. We train volunteers in operating and repairing railroad equipment, many of whom end up getting hired away by large commercial railroads once they've completed training with us.

WHERE WE GO

We own and operate approximately 14 miles of track between Coopersville and Grand Rapids, Michigan. Our track connects with the Grand Rapids Eastern Railroad, CSX and Grand Elk (N.S.) via an interchange at Walker, MI. We haul freight cars for our customers along the 7 miles of track between Marne and Grand Rapids.

Passenger service is offered only on the 7 miles between Coopersville and Marne. You will cross over an open deck girder bridge, four creeks and a road bridge as we travel through family-owned farms and fields. For a brief stretch, our track follows the route of Interstate 96. (Actually, the highway follows the railroad track which was first laid down in 1858. The track follows an ancient water route first cut into the earth by glacial events.) When the train gets to Marne, the locomotive is uncoupled from the east end. It then moves onto our passing siding alongside of your coach. The passengers wave to the engineer as the locomotive passes their window. On the siding, the locomotive goes through switches and is moved back onto our main track. It is then coupled onto the west end of the train to pull us back to the City of Coopersville.

TRAIN RIDE EVENTS

We offer seasonally themed train events and excursions throughout the year. Our theme trains, from the beginning of the season, are:

Our popular, reduced fare, EnterTRAINment Excursions run on Wednesdays and Saturdays from May through September. Sometime during your 90 minute journey through family-owned farms and fields, our Singing Trainman will be in your coach playing railroad and other acoustic songs. Also, the friendly Conductor will talk to you about our hometown Rock Star "Del Shannon", railroad history and our equipment. But, don't worry, you will also have plenty of time to just relax and watch the passing scenes outside of the windows.

Our schedule is subject to change or cancellation in the event of mechanical or track conditions. This is a very rare event if and when it happens. If a departure is changed, passengers who have registered reservations will be notified via email.

WHEN CAN I RIDE

We run from March 17th, 2018 through December 23rd, 2018. Freight car deliveries are the only traffic on our track in January and February.

Hover your cursor over the boxes below to show more detail. Click on any train ride on the schedule to be taken to a page to learn more about it. To see the schedule for different months, click the arrows to the left or right of the month name at the top of the calendar.